EPS higher pension: BJP MP writes to PM Modi over delays, Para 26(6) hurdles for retirees

Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Ajeet Madhavrao Gopchade has formally petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve long-standing hurdles surrounding the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) higher payout mechanism.

Despite previous government assertions that the Supreme Court’s landmark November 4, 2022 verdict was implemented across all sectors, thousands of retirees continue to face extensive procedural delays and legal barriers.

Background: The EPS Contribution and Legal Context

Under standard Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) guidelines, an employer allocates 8.33% of an employee’s basic pay plus dearness allowance (DA) toward the EPS pension corpus. Historical caps restricted the calculation salary to ₹15,000, limiting monthly contributions to ₹1,250—a ceiling anticipated to reach roughly ₹2,083 under an upgraded ₹25,000 wage limit.

However, the Supreme Court’s November 2022 ruling protected an employee’s right to contribute based on actual, uncapped salaries to secure higher retirement payouts. Despite these judicial mandates, only a tiny fraction of eligible pensioners have actually received adjusted benefits.

Key Objections Highlighted in the Letter to the PM

In his detailed appeal, MP Gopchade raised five primary concerns regarding the ongoing administration of the higher pension scheme:

Six Actionable Demands Submitted to the PMO

To achieve equity and streamline processing, Gopchade requested a top-level review by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) alongside six core interventions:

1. Remove administrative impediments caused by Para 26(6) of the EPF Scheme.
2. Mandate identical treatment for eligible applicants across both exempted and unexempted establishments.
3. Form an institutional mechanism that automatically applies established High Court and Supreme Court precedents to all similar applicants, bypassing unnecessary litigation.
4. Conduct a thorough financial and actuarial assessment of the EPS-1995 contribution design.
5. Enforce time-bound processing for all pending higher-pension applications.

Fulfill Parliamentary Assurance No. 271/72 fully and transparently.